The Truth Behind The Tale
by SilverontheRose
Summary: The Avengers decide to trust in a fairy tale, only to find reality quite different. A Mature Alternate Reality one-shot, not for teenagers or younger. Some squick with Kagome's age. I do not claim any of the properties belonging to Marvel or Rumiko Takahashi.


This may squick some people, as Kagome is underage in modern America. (16 or 17, they kept count of their age differently than we do. An eighteen-month old and a two-month old could both be considered one year old by their counting.) However, she's not from this time in this AU, and while Clint is definitely in the wrong, it is normal to her. If is too offensive, let me know.

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The Truth Behind The Tale

~oOo~

Kagome laughed at the wealthy man's poor jokes, knowing she could have him wrapped around her finger in a heartbeat. Her senses prickled as she felt the looks from Fury and Steve burrow into her and, just to aggravate them a little more, she gave her laugh a smoky edge.

They'd actually _believed_ the fantastic legends of the Shikon no Tama Priestess with her magical jewel, so much so, they'd had Thor-kami-sama travel time and retrieve her. She wondered what it was like to be that naive... to believe the tales of an otherworldly girl who loved youkai, hanyou, and humanity alike.

And how bitter it must be for them, to find out she was no time-traveler... such a ridiculous notion... but just another girl-child in a poor family who's father was plagued with girls. Thank the gods that several of them showed exceptional power... even poor Sango, who, while not exceptionally gifted in spiritual matters, was hell incarnate with a harvest scythe, as her husband had found out. His swindling days were shortened after she pinned his wandering hand to a tree.

She'd read their translation of the ancient scroll- after she'd learned to read, of course- and had been surprised that it wasn't a complete fiction. Truth was, her eldest sister _had_ perished after being given that cursed jewel. It wasn't unexpected though, in a time of war and disease, and Kagome had buried three of her brothers prior to Kikyou's death. The only true emotion provoked by her memories of Kikyou was satisfaction her sister had an _honorable_ death. Kikyou had been devoted to the path of a miko; to die in service was expected and admired.

She laughed at the wit of the rich man again, expertly turning down his suggestion to find an empty room without offense before excusing herself and going out to the balcony. The Avengers would only interrupt, anyways, damn them. She looked up into the vast sky. There weren't as many stars, but oh the wonders of electricity and lights!

Unfortunately, thoughts of the ridiculous tale these Avengers had showed her kept pestering her even out here. Imagine being jealous of Kikyou! The girl had worked her fingers to the bone for people who were smugly assured the gods would bless them because they shared their lesser surplus with the shrine. She knew for a fact Kikyou was happiest being at the beck and call of the old priest simply because it removed her from their father's ludicrous marriage matches.

Kagome didn't blame Kikyou one bit for not wanting to marry the fire-scarred bandit Gouro had brought home. A _successful_ bandit would have been welcome, as they'd provide well for the family as a whole. But Onigumo was terribly scarred; people avoided his eyes and quickly passed him by to avoid getting his bad luck.

As her mother had finally pounded into Gouro's stubbon head, a bandit had to be forgettable in looks and voice, or he'd be a dead bandit ere long. And _that_ would lead authorities back to the family. Onigumo simply wasn't worth the risk in her mother's eyes. For a short couple of hours, Kagome had toyed with the idea of marrying him herself, but decided her mother was right. All to the good, for when she'd hit her tenth year, it became obvious she was going to be of interest to procurers... and she'd abandoned any thoughts of being a poor man's wife.

She giggled. The Avengers had been so dismayed and disgusted when she'd mentioned her happiness to have the potential to be a sought-after concubine at what to them was an unmentionable age for sex. She didn't understand their hangups, even after a year with them. To be a high ranked prostitute for a reputable house wasn't a dishonorable profession for a village girl during her original era... and for a poor, common girl like her to become a rich man's concubine was a sign of the highest favor from the gods!

Speaking of the gods, the one who had brought her to this time had come outside looking for her, so she abandoned her musings and followed him; apparently the Avengers were tired of the party. She looked over to her escort, wishing he wasn't as bound by Earth's rules as he was. Thor-kami-sama was so incredibly large and blonde, she'd first thought him a child of Amaterasu, the sun goddess. He looked on her with desire at times, and she'd acknowledged the favor he was showing her by indicating she would be honored to receive his attentions. _He_ had no trouble with her culture, having experience in similar Earth cultures long ago. But it seemed these new morals prevented him from taking her for his own.

She let Tony defend her in the car, as the dear Captain tried to harangue her over her 'forward' behavior. Tuning him out, she submerged herself again in her memories, wondering what these men had done to her old necklace...

After Kikyou's death, Kagome had brought the men keeping vigil over her sister's body doctored sake. They had fallen asleep quickly, and she'd taken the opportunity to steal the Shikon no Tama, replacing it with a hunk of fragile crystal. There was no way she was going to let the old priest burden her sister in the afterlife, but she also refused to ruin some other girl's life over it.

So, she'd taken it with her into the forest while she was foraging and pounded on it with river rocks until it broke apart. She continued her attempts to destroy the jewel every week until it was hardly more than sparkling dust. She'd found a perfect bamboo reed and wax-cured it, before filling it up with the dust. Then she'd secured it around her neck with a beautiful, variegated braid she'd made from stolen horsehair.

Oh, how Father had raged and beaten her till she parted with the hank of hair he'd caught her with! It wasn't as if she'd endangered the village. She'd been the only one who's life, or at the very least, hand, had been at risk. But she was quick and stealthy, and had managed to pluck a thick handful of strands from the warrior's mounts after the new bride of the provincial lord had paused in the village while porters were conscripted and the palanquin bearers given the chance to refresh themselves. She'd hidden most of it... the beating made her feel utterly justified in not telling him that she had more.

Back in her quarters in Stark Tower again, she stripped and went to cleanse herself. Bathing was delightful with scalding hot water you didn't had to heat on a small stove by yourself. She shuddered at the memories of her short stint as a miko and the icy mountain stream the sadistic priest insisted she purify herself with daily. If only he hadn't noticed the damned necklace... but a horsehair cord and a waxed reed weren't the usual trinkets worn by village girls. A seashell strung on flax was more common, and the damned priest was crafty enough to figure it was more than the protection charm she claimed it was.

He'd gone to her father with loud praise, congratulating him for having so many god-blessed daughters and offered to take on her training; waiving the monetary gift that was customary. Her father had jumped on it, already planning on how he could make the offer for her increase the worth of her siblings. And so her time in hell began. But no matter the demands the priest made, or the torture of her apprenticeship, she never admitted to stealing or destroying the Shikon no Tama.

She sighed in pleasure at the rich scent of the perfumed water she was lying in. It was nice, having all the riches she'd dreamed of without having to kowtow to the higher-ranked women in the house. She did miss having a lover though...

Three months after she'd been turned over to the priest, a lesser member of the noble Houjou clan had fallen for her at first sight. Gouro had no trouble taking his eleven-year-old daughter from her service to the gods and selling her into the services of Houjou Akitoki. A soft smile creased her mouth as she remembered her lord.

At fourteen, he was already climbing the political ranks. A gentle soul who showed the promise of unusually insightful wisdom, he was being considered as a companion to a third-rank prince. His mother was so proud of her son's achievements, she had listened to his request for the beautiful girl with only a slight reserve. But as he made no noise about marrying the chit, she agreed to look into it.

Beautiful, and clever as a fox, Kagome had shown just the right balance of humility and calculation. She knew she wasn't fit to be Akitoki's wife, but showed just enough spirit to make it clear to everyone she could hold her own with the other concubines. And when the woman in charge of the negotiation made certain inquiries, Kagome made it clear her absolute loyalty would be to her lord and his lady mother. A week later, she left her village to never see it again.

She sighed as she stood up in the tub. The air was chilled compared to the hot water, and she wistfully thought of Akitoki's tender attentions as her nipples contracted, tugging at nerves further down. Four years she'd been with her gentle lord, until kami-sama had come looking for the legendary priestess in the book. Absolutely no one had objected to Raiden-kami-sama taking her, especially after he had rode in on a storm.

So now she was here in this modern era. Whereas before she'd not believed she'd live another decade, twenty-five being old for a woman of her position, she was told she could now conceivably live an entire century. She continually shocked these modern people with her views, though. When they found out she'd buried two children and left another behind, she'd never heard as much racket. Though she wondered what he was like, and what name he'd been given, her son had belonged to the Houjou clan. She'd never even seen him after his birth; Akitoki's mother preferring to raise the boy herself.

She rubbed in the exquisite lotions Stark-dono kept her supplied with. While it was strange in this time, she was adaptable. A woman of her era and position had to be. She did enjoy the freedom; not having to follow the orders of the mother, wives, and senior concubines of the house. And being _expected_ to raise your child... she wanted another one, now. A child that would be _hers_. No other woman dictating their expectations, no one scolding her for being too affectionate and ruining the child's temperament.

But they'd explained to her she couldn't -shouldn't- be having children yet. Some absolute nonsense about being a child herself, which drove her insane. She'd been a woman for years before this silliness with the Shikon no Tama had brought her through time, and was quite certain she would lose her mind if she was considered a child again for another two years.

She slid between the sheets nude, contemplating the rock that had indirectly been responsible for her transcendence of time. The men here had taken it, 'experimented' with the dust, as they called it. Tests proved it was no known substance, but to their questions she could only shrug.

What was the jewel's power?

It was cursed. The bearer always died early, but that was from attempts to steal it more often than any supernatural reason.

Had she met any youkai?

One or two, as they rarely came around humans. She knew she was a terrible shot, so she preferred to show them respect and inform them of the jewel's disappearance in her sister's ashes, than attack them and die.

Kikyou wasn't her rival?

She and Kikyou were years apart and really didn't know each other well. Kagome wanted to _improve_ her station in life, why be jealous of her miko sister? As to a rivalry over a _hanyou_?! She'd laughed at that one. Really, whoever wrote the story was inventive. Villagers kept a jealous eye on their women. _Monks _and _peddlers_ were kept away from them... if a woman was foolish enough to become involved with a beast, the headmaster of her village would have had them beaten and sold into slavery. The youkai would be killed.

She began to drift, a long forgotten memory surfacing. There _was_ a kitsune looking for the jewel once, and had demanded she tell him about her life before he'd believe her story about her sister taking the stone to the next world. She wondered if he'd spun the legend. If so, she wished him joy over the success of his prank... her life had certainly improved because of it. Sighing, she turned over and fell asleep.

~oOo~

The quiet knock at her door later that night woke her and sped her heartbeat. After he closed the door behind him, she rose from the bed. Letting the sheet fall, the long, lean line of her nude body was highlighted by the moonlight before she knelt and abased herself.

She knew men's reactions to the long, shimmering streamers of true black hair contrasting her pale, translucent skin. Was trained to take advantage of it for the pleasure of her lord and any he cared to send her to. When she felt strong fingers trace her jaw, she lifted her head, eyes knowing and seductive.

And met eyes with the same knowledge in them.

With one finger under her chin, this new lover raised her to a kneeling position. "Exquisite." Kagome shivered at being eyed with a frank assessment and growing desire. "Steve, Fury, even Tony won't admit they're wrong for treating you like a child. I'm not bound by naivety. The poor don't stay innocent long, even in this rich world the three of them live so blindly in. I was a killer by the time I was your age, Natasha the most seductive, deadliest weapon in her trainer's arsenal."

A long finger traced her throat, caressed her ear before a nose followed the same route. "Knowing this, Ka-go-me, are you scared of me? Of Natasha?" A wet lick of her earlobe had her breasts grow heavy, the nipples tightening.

"No, my lord. I am the pliant sheath, you the rigid sword. As it has been between warrior and woman for as long as there has been time."

Clint nipped her earlobe, then suckled the little piece of flesh hard, making Kagome moan. "It's been a very long time for you, hasn't it? How long have you been left to the pleasures of hand, bone, and stone?"

"I hadn't yet been purified from giving birth, so almost six seasons, my lord."

"I would call that criminal negligence." He ran his hand down and cupped her breast, gently getting a feel for the softness and weight of it. He thumbed the nipple as he ran a tongue over her collarbone. She sighed softly, enjoying the double sensation.

He moved, holding a breast in each hand now as he ran the tip of his nose down her own before burying his face in her breasts. Her center heated at his obvious enjoyment of her endowments, and she dared to slip a hand down the length of his back.

He looked up. "You're mine now, as Natasha is. In matters of safety, obey her. Otherwise work things out between you two."

She shivered at the depth of his voice and rose, letting him pull her close for a moment and bury his face in her short curls. He let her go, and she swept the fall of her hair over her shoulder to give him a clear view of her back and rump as she returned to the bed, sliding in with grace. He followed her, tossing his clothes onto her chair.

Their night was spent in exploration, learning the sensitive places and body cues of each other. Her concubine's chest of erotic tools was plundered, the riches within amazing him. Ivory and jade phalli of different lengths and widths, various implements made of semiprecious stones that she had to show him the use of, even scrolls of erotica he'd seen fragments of in museums. Time and time again he took her until they were sated, until she finally curled into him and he held her gently.

"Your lord treated you well,'' he said as they watched the beginnings of false dawn.

"My lord was a good man. He was well liked by those higher-ranked, and had the family and money to gain high office. I was his favorite, only shared with those he dared not offend. He was very generous, especially after I gave him a son."

He heard the longing in her voice. "Is that what you want? Another child, this one yours to raise?"

She hid her eyes from him and didn't answer. She knew her station in life, and how not to lose it.

"Hm. Natasha and I can't have a normal family life. We've made too many enemies. I know she's wished for one, though." When she didn't respond, he continued. "I bought my apartment building recently. Some bastard was trying to evict the residents, and I enjoyed living there too much to put up with it. The residents don't give a shit about my being an Avenger, but they like me as a landlord.

"A young, emancipated Asian girl moving in wouldn't cause undue note. The apartment next to mine is empty, and I could do some unreported construction to connect it to mine... after you have renovated the apartment to your liking, of course. I don't make a fuss over money like Stark, but I have way more than I could spend in a lifetime. Plenty to take care of a family no one knows about."

Tears pricked her lids, as her dreams were offered to her on a silver platter. She had no problems being hidden away. Women belonging to wealthy families rarely left their pavilions without being hidden in a palanquin and escorted by warriors. And families were killed to the last babe in wartime, including the concubines. Being hidden away was a sign of a woman's worth to her lord.

"And there's one other thing to consider. Natasha wants a child as well, but can trust no one in this era to care for one once she returns to her job. You know honor and loyalty like no one else does in this opportunistic country. Your loyalty will be to us, I trust. So tell me, Kagome," he ran a finger down her face, "can you give us a family? Be our secret, our love, the one we fight for?"

As she slid down his body, he made a mental note to look for a contractor... then her mouth wiped any other thoughts from his mind.


End file.
